Abstract:
Barley, a fundamental cereal grain, is extensively grown for its nutritional advantages and
adaptability in food and beverage manufacturing. Hence, this study aimed at profiling the fatty
acid composition and quantifying the crude fat content and the individual fatty acid constituents
in barley samples taken from three sub-districts of Dangla district. the barley samples were
collected from Debaca, Chara, and Sahara sub-district and the crude fat and fatty acid
constituents were determined following a standard procedure. Results revieweld that the crude
fat contet of three samples ranged from 4.85-5.95% by mass. In addition, atotal of twelve fatty
acids, Seven saturated and five unsaturated fatty acids were detected in all barley samples. The
highest fatty acid content of barley in three sub-district were myristic, Linolenic ,Palmitic, oleic
,linoleic, Arachidic, gondoic, behenic, Palmitoleic, Margaric ,stearic, and lignoceric acid.
Palmitic acid was the most abundant fatty acid in the barley and accounted for 44.2–49.9% of
the total fatty acid content. The level of Linoleic acid found in this study ranged from28.47% -
32.22% of the total fatty acid. Furthermore, the total content of saturated fatty acids fell between
266 and 311 mg/100g, at its pure content of 210-266 mg/100 g, with palmitic acid being the most
predominant contributor. Myristic and stearic acids were other members of saturated fatty acids
contributing to its total value. On the other hand, unsaturated fatty acids are between 166-
227mg/100g in terms of total concentration, with linoleic acid, between 121-169mg/100g, being
the biggest contributor, and included in this class are the dominating Oleic and gondoic acids,
ranging from 44-60 mg/100g and 2-4 mg/100 respectively. It could, therefore, be inferred from
the data presented that the saturated fats were higher in number compared to their unsaturated
counterparts in the barley samples. There is no significant difference in the mean cocnetration of
the fatty acid between the sampling sub districts.
Keywords: Barley; Fatty acids; Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry